Known portable handheld motor-driven chain saws are equipped with a guide bar which extends outwardly in the front thereof and on which a continuous saw chain is journalled for movement around the periphery thereof. A nose sprocket is mounted in the front end of the guide bar for changing the direction of the saw chain as it moves around the guide bar. The saw chain includes cutting links and triangular-shaped driving links with the latter engaging tooth gaps disposed between each two mutually adjacent ones of the teeth of the nose sprocket. The inclined flanks of the triangularly-shaped drive links are thereby in contact engagement with the inclined tooth flanks which laterally limit the tooth gaps. Each of the cutting links includes a cutting tooth and a depth limiter disposed ahead of the cutting tooth and which limits the depth to which the cutting tooth can cut into the wood. When cutting into soft wood and/or when the operator of the chain saw applies a large thrust pressure, the tooth can indeed cut too deeply into the wood so that a kickback effect occurs during plunge cutting operations at the forward nose region of the guide bar. Such a sudden kickback of the chain saw presents a direct danger to the operator.